“I’m not going to waste my time worrying about these Confederate statues; that’s wasted energy,” Barkley said. “You know what I’m gonna do? I’m going to keep doing great things; I’m going to keep trying to make a difference, number one, in the black community, because I’m black, but I’m also going to try to do good things in the world.”

Barkley likewise argued that it was pointless engaging with racists such as neo-Nazis who will hate people “no matter what.”

“I’m not going to waste my time screaming at a neo-Nazi who’s gonna hate me, no matter what; and I’m not going to waste my time, trying to, worried about these statues that they’ve got all over the country,” Barkley said.

When asked by Rick Karle, sports director at WBRC FOX6, what should be done with the statues, Barkley told people to simply ignore them and live their life.

“I’ve always ignored them… Rick, I’m 54 years old; I’ve never thought about those statues a day in my life,” Barkley added. “I’ve never — I think if you ask most black people, to be honest, they ain’t thought a day in their life about those stupid statues.”

The ex-basketball pro instead called on the black community to focus on topics such as education and economic opportunity.

“What we as black people need to do, we need to worry about getting our education; we need to stop killing each other; we need to try to find a way to have more economic opportunity and things like that,” Barkley said. “Don’t waste — those things are important and significant. I’m wasting time and energy screaming at a neo-Nazi, or ‘Man, you gotta take this statue down.'”

What do you think about Barkley’s comments? Do you agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments below.